


Rent-a-Buddy

by bailey, SmallAnxietic



Category: Game Grumps, Good Game (TV 2017)
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff, Kissing, Other, innocent kissing, pure fluff, the fluffiest, x Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 08:07:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13336995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bailey/pseuds/bailey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmallAnxietic/pseuds/SmallAnxietic
Summary: I couldn't help but notice there are no Alex x readers. Well. Time to change that! Here's some heart sickening fluff for you on how you meet alex!





	Rent-a-Buddy

**Author's Note:**

> G I V E M E M O R E A L E X X R E A D E R S

Tracing your fingertip around the edge of a nearly empty glass, you glance up at a flat-screen at the back of the bar. Drinking before your date arrives might be rude, but so is being an hour late. How long can you wait before it becomes pathetic? 

After another twenty minutes has passed, you decide you’ve passed that limit and sigh, reaching back for your wallet.

“I’ve got it,” a man sinks down onto the stool next to yours, wearing at least three— no, four clashing patterns and smiling at you like he’s known you for years. He hands his card to the bartender, ordering two more drinks before turning back to you, adding “I saw you drinking alone, and I was drinking alone too, so I thought ‘hey, maybe we can drink alone together’.” You feel yourself smiling back at him and nod, taking your glass. The man beams at you and raises a hand in the air, responding more loudly than you think he realises, “Awesome! I’m Alex, it’s nice to meet you.”

You look between Alex and his hand, raising an eyebrow and slowly lifting yours to high five him, “Nice to meet you too, Alex.”

He laughs and puts his hand down to slide his drink closer to himself, turning to face you more, “So, you’ve been here as long as I have. Are you waiting for someone?” He watches you as you look away from him and take a long drink from your glass, and tilts his head a little. “Hey, I’m sure they're just late,” he smiles and puts his hands on your shoulders so that you’ll face him, “My best friend is a dirty backstabber and evicted me from our apartment for the night, so I’ll be your rent-a-best-friend until they get here. Cool?”

 

"Hmm," you let yourself relax on the stool, faking contemplation as you smile at your new 'buddy'. "I don't know, I hardly know anything about you." 

"Well you know my name," Alex tries to throw in, lifting his scotch glass to his lips. 

"And I know that you've got a disastrous taste in fashion," you snort, looking over his outfit again. "And that you probably are drinking the cheapest of whiskey."

"Some might say I have the best taste in fashion. I think it makes me look nice," Alex gives you an easy smile which you don't really know what to do with as he leans toward you a little, shaking his glass in front of you. "And that is anything but an assumption, baby. As far as you know I've got the most rich of flavor in my hand." 

"Please, I can smell how awful it is." You laugh, pushing him away from you which he easily gives into, giggling as he sits back in his own space. It's adorable, you think, how comfortable he is with himself. Your earlier disappointment and slight annoyance from being obviously stood up by some grade A Jerk on Tinder is easily melting away with the alcohol and friendly distraction laughing next to you. 

"You're right, it's not the best, but it's not the worst! It's still okay." 

"Yeah?" Making a ballsy move, you lean forward and grab Alex's drink. You take a quick swig and shove it back in his hands before he can say anything, your face quickly falling into a grimace. "God, that tastes like such ass! Jesus, Alex, let me buy you an actual drink.”

 

Alex laughs, and the corners of his eyes wrinkle up in a way that somehow makes him look goofier than he already did. He takes his glass and lifts it to his lips, mumbling, “Don’t spend your money on me, I’m a free rent-a-buddy,” before he sips his drink and sets it down. “How do I know I can trust your taste in drinks anyway?”

You shake your head and look at the shelves of bottles along the back wall, waving your hand dismissively, “You have low standards, anything I pick will  _ blow your mind _ .” Taking your wallet back out, you wait to catch the bartender’s attention and order two strawberry daiquiris. 

Smiling at the bartender, Alex thanks her as she carefully slides your drinks across the bar. Looking down at his drink and back to you, he smirks, “I should take a second to prepare myself; this is the drink that shatters my world. I can feel it.”

 

"Stop being a pussy and drink the damn thing," you roll your eyes, smiling naturally as you watch him do as you told him and drink from the glass. It's honestly the best thing you've seen all night, his eyes lighting up and tongue rolling across his lips. "So, Buddy, did I rock your world?" 

"How much does this cost?" Alex whispers worriedly, looking at you with concern but not stopping himself from taking another drink. You laugh, taking your own tall glass and having a sip. The ice is cool against your mouth and makes you hum. 

"I'm not allowed to tell you. Gentleman's rule." 

"Thank you," and there he is, doing it again. A soft, smooth tone of voice as his dopey smile draws across his cheeks and his eyelids droop. "It was really nice of you to buy me something, especially when you didn't have to."

"Well," you can feel yourself begin to fluster and your eyes move to the TV screen again that's playing some sport you can't really catch up with. "I have to treat my rent-a-buddy somehow. What kind of buddy would I be to leave a fellow buddy hanging?" 

"Heh. Buddy." Alex laughs, and you don't know why, but you're laughing too. 

"Shut up!”

 

Your eyes are drawn away from the TV when Alex’s laughter ends in a quiet squeak. He turns and rests his foot against a leg of your stool, leaning his elbow on the bar. There’s no tension in his posture, and you realize you’re feeling lighter than you have in a long while. He leans his head on his hand, pressing his mess of ringlets against the side of his head in doing so, a few more loose curls dropping onto his forehead. After sipping from his drink again carefully, he smiles up at you, “No, no, I’m into it. You’ve earned the title with this sweet elixir,  _ Buddy. _ ”

Looking at him a bit more closely, you notice how flushed his cheeks have gotten and how bright his eyes are, even now while he’s clearly less-than-sober. You smile at him and set your drink down on the bar, tapping your fingertips against the side of the glass. Glancing toward the doors of the bar when they swing open, you see a familiar face. You’ve only seen him in a few semi-well-lit pictures, and you definitely hadn’t expected him to show up at this point, but there he is. Your would-be Tinder date walks into the room in dark jeans and expensive shoes, his hair gelled back and his face clean-shaven; You watch as his eyes scan the bar for a moment before you look back to Alex, who’s still giving you a lopsided smile.

 

Alex. A man you barely knew, but you had bought a drink for. Alex, the one with a shitty Goodwill flamingo button up over a bright yellow tee shirt, slacks and huge rat sneakers. Alex, the man with gorgeous fucking eyes and hair and way too happy a personality. Alex, your own personal rent-a-buddy. 

You quickly decide to turn your back to the entrance, zoning your attention on Alex, who’s looking at you in a sincere yet still drunk haze. You give him a small smile, raising your hand and trying to hide your face as you whisper, "hey, buddy?" Alex raises an eyebrow at your quietness, and you can't help but notice the scar near the end of one of them. How could someone as small and cute as Alex get a scar? A question for later, you decide. "The guy at the entrance was supposed to be my date. He's finally here... after an hour."

"Oh, that's nice!" Alex beams at you, a little too quickly, you notice. "I should probably go then, huh..?" His foot moves away from your stool as he places his hands on the bar to lift himself up, but you quickly grab his arm before he can go anywhere. "I, uh... I'd rather not be with him. I think," you lick your dry lips (why were they dry? You just drank something) and take a leap of faith. "I think I'd rather be with my rent-a-buddy. But.. not here. I don't want that ass to see me." You can see Alex's confusion clearly, he doesn't get why you're asking to stay with him and not your date. If you were honest, you didn't know either. Beside what you had literally just said a minute ago, it felt like you knew Alex. Or at least, you could get to know him if he gave you this chance. So you beg a little more, keeping your hand on his arm. "Please?"

 

Alex glances down at your hand on his arm and back to your face. His eyebrows knit together slightly, but once you add a last plea, he nods to you and places his hand over yours, “If you’re  _ really _ sure..” He watches you intently, searching your face while he gives you a chance to change your mind. Seeing you nod back at him, with a lot less hesitation than he had expected, he smiles brightly and stands up from his stool. Looking over his shoulder and back to you, he puts his hands on his hips and widens his stance, straightening out his posture and spreading himself out in an attempt to hide you from your ex-date. He holds his position while you stand up from your stool and then wrinkles his nose up, “I have no idea how to get you out of here without him seeing you, but I say we make a run for it so it won’t matter.”

 

You open your mouth to possibly argue, but close it just as fast because like Alex had said, it doesn’t matter. You give him a look of agreement, nodding before grabbing his hand. You’re dashing through the bar with him behind you before you can see him get flustered from you holding him, quickly passing right by your date. Just as you feel the fresh air of the night and you’re thinking about how nice it feels, you’re pulled backward, almost tripping. Looking behind you, you see that Alex has bumped into your former date. You groan before pulling Alex over to you, not even bothering to acknowledge the other man. “Honey, you have to be more careful,” You coo before you really know what the fuck you’re doing, and Alex is just as perplexed as you are. You look at Tinder Guy, giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, he’s so clumsy sometimes. See you!” 

And the two of you are off again, running away from the bar. “Could I at least ask where we’re going?” Alex yells, still running behind you. God, you were fast. 

“I don’t know!” You laugh, and soon the both of you are laughing so hard you have to stop. You don’t know how far you ran but it couldn’t have been that much, you weren’t running for very long. You hunch over, hands on your knees as you try to catch your breath. “Sorry about that. I just got an adrenaline rush, I guess.” 

“Fuck, don’t apologize. That was fun.” Alex smiles for probably the millionth time that night, and you just have to ask. 

“Why do you smile so much?”

“Pardon?”

“You. Smiling. You do it a lot. It’s like you never stop smiling.” Alex puts a hand up to his face anxiously, feeling at his cheeks, his smile dropped into a confused frown. 

“Is that bad?” 

“Is it bad? God, no. It’s refreshing to look at, if anything.” Alex smiles again, and you smile back at him. You almost forget you’re in the middle of nowhere with a stranger. Almost. Though he doesn’t feel much like a stranger anymore. “So, where to now, Alex?” 

 

Huffing out a breath that’s illuminated by the light of the streetlamp above you both, Alex does a quick twirl to assess your surroundings. He looks back at you, grinning, “How far are you willing to walk?”

You rise up, lifting your hands off your knees and smirking back at him, “Surprise me. I’ll tell you when it’s too far.”

Immediately, Alex grabs your hand and begins pulling you up the sidewalk, his long legs making it way too easy for him to set a pace that has you at a half-jog to keep up. You smile and tighten your grip in his a bit, reminding him that you’re there and noting how warm his hand is.

You trail along behind him for a few minutes, thankful that it’s late and there aren’t many cars around to collide with when he drags you across normally busy streets with no hesitation. Just when you’ve spent longer than strictly necessary watching how his hair bounces when he walks, he comes to a dead stop.

“Ta-dah!” He pivots to face you, still holding your hand and beaming while he makes a large sweeping gesture with his other hand toward what looks to be… another bar. Seeing your expression twist into a skeptical squint, he shakes his head, smiling, “Karaoke night! And they make you free drinks if you fall off stage, so I can take one for the team if we need them."

 

“Hmm,” you hum as you move to enter the building, making Alex scramble quickly to open the door for you. “As much as alcohol sounds nice, I’d rather not spoil the night with you breaking a rib and puking in a toilet. You can drink if you want to, but I’d rather not.” 

The two of you enter the karaoke bar, Alex staying close to your side and still holding your hand. You don’t really mind. “I don’t want to drink if you’re not. It doesn’t seem very cool to make you deal with a random drunk guy,” he frowns. You can’t help but agree, though the word ‘random’ puts you off. Was he even a stranger anymore? You can’t tell. 

“So, if you have the balls to bring me to a karaoke bar, that must mean you’ve got some kind of talent.” The two of you take a seat in a two-person booth, letting go of hands as you slide in. Now that the both of you are sitting it’s easier to make eye contact with him again but you never fully forget about his height; you can practically see how sprawled out his legs are under the table. They’re definitely on your side, but he makes no moves to make flirtatious contact so you put it aside.  

“Well, I used to be in a band,” Alex grins. 

“Used to?”

“It didn't end up working out. It was kind of a silly idea,” the man shrugs. “But I still practice when my roommate isn’t home. He doesn’t like it when I sing in the house, he thinks it’s obnoxious.” You frown at that, but don’t make a comment on it. 

“Well, I would love to hear you sing, Alex.” The both of you smile, Alex is smiling more genuinely than you, the dimples showing on his cheeks. You were once told by a passerby that you really know when someone is smiling and happy when their dimples show. You’d like to think it’s true. There’s someone singing on the stage at the moment, so the two of you agree Alex should sign up so he can go sooner rather than later, and exit the booth to find the clipboard on the edge of the bar table. 

“What would you prefer out of the list?” Alex hands you the binder of songs next to the clipboard as he signs his name down on the sheet, waiting with his pen to write a song. You glimpse through it, only one or two names really sticking out to you for him to sing. 

“What about you choose from Time Stand Still or Limelight, and don’t tell me which you pick,” you hand the binder back to him, smiling at the eyebrow he raises as if he’s impressed. 

“Rush, huh? A girl after my own heart,” he comments, smiling at you, his eyes sparkling as he raises the clipboard to his face so you won’t see. He struggles to write from the awkward position and you laugh. 

“What else do I have to do to get your heart?” You say it as a joke, but you know that more than one part of you is curious. Alex is an interesting man, what does he look for in a person? “Should I learn to cook, or maybe have curvy hips?”

Alex shakes his head, putting the clipboard down along with the pen. You resist from checking the paper to see what he chose and instead look into his eyes which are still gleaming. “You really want to know?” He asks, leaning on the bar table. You notice his quick change in behavior, but again, make no comments. Instead of answering you nod, which he smiles at, looking over to the stage. For awhile you two stand in silence, just watching the drunken beings come and go from the stage. “Honestly?” Alex breaks the silence, making you look back up at him. He keeps his eyes occupied on the stage. “I’m willing to be with anyone who just… doesn’t leave me in the middle of the night, you know?” 

 

You raise an eyebrow at him, staying quiet for a moment and leaning against the bar next to him while you take in the sincerity of his answer. When his eyes drift back to you, though, you smirk and respond, “So we have to work on raising your standards for drinks  _ and _ people.”

Seeming to miss the joking tone of your voice, Alex licks his lips and shrugs, breaking eye contact with you again to look back at the stage. As the drunken ballad onstage comes to an end, Alex smiles and claps for the singers. He steps away from the bar and jogs over to the stairs, holding his hand out in case either of them stumbles on their way down. He then climbs up and takes his place at the mic.

A familiar guitar riff echos out from the speakers. You pull out a barstool and take a seat quickly, looking up at Alex while he runs his hand through his hair and shifts his weight between his feet quickly to pump himself up. A smile spreads on his face, and he begins to bounce a bit on the balls of his feet as the drumbeat hits. Warmth fills your chest as he begins to sing Limelight with a more impressive voice than anyone deserves to have at a cheap karaoke bar at 9 PM on a Thursday night. While he sings, Alex stays in almost constant motion, and you have to wonder where he gets his seemingly endless energy. He looks to you frequently during his tipsy performance, eyes wrinkling up whenever you meet his gaze. When the song is over, you whistle loudly and he smiles hugely at you from the stage, laughing when a few scattered claps join you from around the room.

 

Alex jogs off the stage as the clapping comes to an end, his body still buzzing with the thrill of the stage as he makes his way and sits on a barstool that’s next to you. He’s still got the huge dopey smile on his face and it’s contagious. “You did amazingly well, Alex,” you tell him honestly. “I would love to hear you sing more. It’s a pity your roommate doesn’t let you use your talent at home.” 

“I wouldn’t call it talent,” Alex says modestly. “I was kicked out of my own band, after all.” 

“Really?” You gape at him. “Well fuck those guys! You’re astounding, Alex, I mean it. And not just because you have a good voice.” The man looks at you surprised, a blush flaring on his cheeks. You naturally take the hand that’s anxiously messing with his shirt, placing your connected hands on the table between you two. You usually wouldn’t make so much contact with a stranger, but with Alex it was like you didn’t have a choice, because let’s face it, you were extremely drawn to him. You barely really know him but you have the ache in your heart to learn more. 

“Thank you,” Alex squeezes your hand. “That means a lot. You’re too nice to me.” You’re not sure what to say to that. Too nice? You don’t think you are. You review in your head how you treat the other people in your life. You guess you do treat Alex a little special. That wasn’t a bad thing, or at least it shouldn’t be. 

“Thank you, too. You were really nice to me in the bar when you didn’t have to be, you swept me right off my feet from my date and gave me a better night than that asshole would have.” Alex laughs at that, your hands lacing together more firmly. It makes your body feel warm with affection and you feel the butterflies flying in your stomach. 

“Swept you off your feet, huh? You basically carried me out of the bar,” he jokes lightly. Now you’re the one who’s blushing. 

“That’s  _ beside  _ the point.”

“So what’s the point?” Alex is smirking at you again, gently leaning forward and bumping you with his shoulder. 

 

You smirk back at him and bite your lip, taking in a deep breath and letting the realisation hit you, once again, that everything about Alex fills you with a sense of ease even when your heart is racing and your stomach is fluttering. Holding his hand tightly, and channeling the confidence it gives you into your voice, you respond, “The _point_ is that meeting you tonight has been the best thing to happen to me in a while. You’re amazing, and if you’d be up for it, I’d love the chance to spend more time with you.”  
Alex smiles more at you, with his cheeks fading into a deeper pink while you talk. He ducks his head a little so that his hair falls forward enough to cover his face as he laughs again. Looking down, he pulls his phone out of his back pocket, opening his contacts and holding it out to you, “Give me your number, and we’ll talk about making this a rent-to-own deal.”

You smirk more at him, taking his phone and adding yourself as a contact, answering without looking up from the screen, “As long as we agree that it’ll end in ownership.” 

Alex lifts his head to look at you, face lit up and laughter dissolving into giggling as you hand his phone back, “Shut up.” He smiles down at his phone and opens his camera, putting an arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer to himself to take a picture with you before he saves your number. Smiling for the picture, you wrap your arm around his waist and lean in until your cheeks are barely brushing together, having to nudge his hair out of the way to get there.

 

It’s then that Alex takes a leap of faith, turning his head to gingerly kiss your on your cheek. Your eyes widen in surprise and you probably wouldn’t believe it was happening if it wasn’t for the phone mirroring the two of you. Quickly he snaps the picture, leaning away from you with a shy smile as he looks down at his phone. “Pretty,” he comments. 

As he positions the photo of your shocked face for your contact picture, you stare at him with a wide smile, taking it in. Alex was too cute for his own good. He’s stalling from having to look at you again, zooming in and out of the picture as if he can’t decide where is the best part of the picture to save in the little contact circle. You lean into him, putting one arm around his shoulders and taking your other hand to place the circle in the center, showing the both of you. Alex looks up at you as if he’s ready to apologize, but before he can say anything you take the chance to kiss him. 

He stalls, just for a moment, before returning the kiss. It’s a small, innocent close-mouthed kiss, but your heart swells from it. Alex’s hand cups your cheek softly, his thumb making small circles on your skin. You pull away from the kiss to breathe, making him  whine and follow your lips, reconnecting them so you’re kissing again. You smile, letting the moment last just a little bit longer before pulling away again, making him follow you once more, unsurprisingly. You laugh. “If you continue doing that, you’re going to fall out of your seat.” 

“I don’t care,” Alex murmurs, his eyes still closed. His hand moves from your face to your hip, pulling you towards him so he can kiss you again. None of his kisses are hot or trying to lead you to anything sexual; If anything, this is the most innocent and cute make out you’ve ever been apart of, but it’s not like you mind. The two of you sit on each of your stools, exchanging small kisses and feather-like touches that never wander too far for another minute or two. It’s nice. It’s really, really nice, which makes it that much harder to stop and put an end to. When you do, because you doubt Alex will ever really want to stop, he groans. 

“You’re too cute, Alex.” You run your hands through his soft curls, smiling at him. “But kissing on a bar stool can only go on so long before it gets awkward.” 

“Yeah, I know,” The man whines, putting his head on your shoulder. You feel him kiss it through your clothes, making you giggle. 

“Wouldn’t you rather save your kisses for later?” 

“When is later?” He asks, still nestled into your neck and shoulder. 

“I don’t usually offer this to guys I’ve just met,” you tell him, and suddenly you’re nervous for the first time all night. “But we can go to my place. Nothing sexual, I don’t do that with guys right away. But we could cuddle on the couch and kiss there, instead. As long as you promise not to try anything.” 

“Of course not.” Alex agrees with you before leaning back up so he can talk to you face-to-face again. He stands from the stool, pulling you with him and grabbing your hand, leaning in for another quick kiss before pulling back and smiling. “Lead the way.” 

Your heart flutters as you look up at Alex for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Your nervousness from before melts away, because you trust him. Alex was way too nice and nervous a guy to try anything, and he seemed to genuinely like you as you did with him. You walk around him, pulling on his hand and turning around, walking backwards toward the exit. The two of you are absolutely beaming as you tug him your way. “C’mon buddy,” you say, “before I change my mind.” 

“Will you?” Alex smirks, planting his feet on the ground.

“Do you really want to find out?” 

 

There’s a pause between the two of you before Alex is quickly pacing up to you, following you out the door as you both laugh. 


End file.
